Device for manipulating pipe-fittings.



P. MUELLER.

DEVICE FOR MANIPULATING PIPE FITTINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 28, 1911.

1,024,095. Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

- amw wliw Philip Mueller UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP MUELLER, F DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE H. MUELLER MANUFAC-TURING COMPANY, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

DEVICE FOR MANIPULATING PIPE-FITTINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Application filed March 28, 1911. Serial No. 617,510.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, PHILIP MUELLER, acitizen of the United States, residing at Decatur, in the county ofMacon and State of Illinois, provements in Devices for ManipulatingPipe-Fittings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a tool for connecting in and removing pipefittings from pipe systems. It relates particularly to the manipulationof corporation cocks such as are usually found in connection with watermains. These cocks are many times constructed without the usual squaredor hexagonal surfaces to which a wrench can be applied, and inasmuch asthe standard corporation cock is quite compact there is no place towhich a wrench can be applied without danger of scarring the cook orinjuring it.

The prime object of my invention is the production of such a device bywhich plugs may be removed from water mains and corporation cockssubstituted through the usual boring machine without escape of water.There is a limited space only in a boring machine tool chamber, and thisdevice is adapted to be attached to the boring bar and be operated inthe said chamber.

In some instances the trench which a plumber has to work in to remove acorporation cock is too narrow to admit of the use of a very longwrench. This limits the power which can be applied to manipulate a cock,either to attach it or to remove it. Plumbers are then tempted to usepipe wrenches which in practice results in a much worse scarring of thecock than if the square wrench were used and may cause a brand new cockto leak by some accidental dis tortion of the main body or adisfigurement of the plug.

The tool which I have designed obviates the above difliculties and makesthe attachment and removal of corporation cocks very simple andreliable.

My improved tool consists of a plug or stem member associated with acoupling member for clamping it to the outlet end of a cock in such amanner that the stem or plug may be turned to right or left to attach orremove the cook. The plug or stem is formed with a shank formanipulation have invented new and useful Imeither by a socket wrench orby a tapping machine. By the use of a tapping machine great force can bebrought to bear on the cock, and thus it may be firmly attached andreadily removed even if it has been con nected in for a long time. Theplug member is preferably in the form of a sleeve provided with rightand left hand threads adapted to engage the threads on the outlet end ofa corporation cock, and the left hand threads formed on the plug member,the left hand threads being of greater pitch than the right handthreads. The coupling member is provided with what I call a lockingmember which looks the cock and the parts of the tool together after thetool is applied no matter whether the plug be rotated to right or left.When the plug and coupling member are rotated with respect to each otherindependently of the locking member, the tool is readily removed.

My invention will be readily understood and appreciated from thefollowing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingin which,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation showing one form of my device appliedto a cock; Fig. 2 is an elevation of the complete device, and Fig. 3 isa sectional elevation of a modified form of my device applied to a cock.

Referring to the drawing, 10 represents a corporation cock to which isapplied my manipulating device 11. The form of device shown in Fig. 1comprises a plug or stem 12 and a coupling member 13 having looselymounted within it a locking member 14: in the form of a flat disk. Thislocking member 141 is secured within the coupling member 13, which is inthe form of a sleeve, intermediate its ends by a series of pins 15 whichbear loosely in a groove 16 in the periphery of the disk. On one side ofthe disk the sleeve is. provided with right hand threads of a size tofit the threads 17 on the outlet end of the standard corporation cock.On the other side of the disk 14: are provided left hand threads ofrelatively greater pitch to receive the screw-threaded end of the plugor stem 12.

My improved device is used as follows First the coupling member 13 isscrewed to the outlet end of the corporation cock desired to be attachedor removed, being screwed up until the disk 14 bears firmly against theend of the cock as shown in Fig. 1. Then the plug 12 is entered andturned left-handedly until it bears firmly against the opposite side ofthe disk 14, the coupling member being held with a wrench if necessary.Thereafter the plug member may be turned to the right or left to attachor remove the cock, and will remain firmly coupled to the cock. Thereason for this is that the disk 14 acts as a locking member incombination with the right and left hand screw threads of the coupling.Assuming the cock is to be applied rotation is of course right handed,the first tendency is for the plug member 12 to unscrew from thecoupling member 13, but on account of the friction between its end,which is made fiat, with the disk 14, and on account of the fact thatthe right hand rotation brings the end of the cook to bear more forciblyagainst the disk and then forces the disk into tighter engagement withthe end of the plug, this is prevented, and the greater the forceapplied to screw the cock home the tighter my device is clamped to thecock. The lost inotion connection of the disk 15, 16 augments thiseffect greatly.

Assuming that it is desired to remove an already attached cock rotationis in a lefthanded relation when the reverse of the above takes place.The flat end of the plug 12 in left-handed rotation is brought firmlyinto engagement with the disk 14 and thus forces it more firmly intoengagement with the end of the cock making a firm frictional engagementand bringing stress to bear on the right and left screw threads of thecoupling as before, tightly clamping the parts of the device and thevalve together.

l/Vhen it is desired to remove the device from a fitting all that isnecessary is to hold the coupling member with a wrench and turn the plugmember with respect to it in a right handed direction, when the pressureon the disk member will be re leased and the device may thereafterreadily be removed from the fitting. To this end I prefer to form thecoupling member 13 as a hexagonal nut or sleeve, or else to form on itsurfaces for engagement by a wrench.

Preferably I form the end of the plug 12 as a shank for a tappingmachine, making it tapering and providing it with a slot 18 as shown. Itthus fits in the tool socket 19 of a tapping machine, and as great aforce as desired can be brought to bear upon it. By thus using my devicea corporation cock can be attached to a main or removed therefromconveniently with ease and without danger of scarring.

In Fig. 3 I show a modified form of my device which differs from thedevice described principally in the fact that instead of forming thecoupling member as a sleeve With right and left hand threads thecoupling member is formed as a plug with right and left hand threads,the left hand threads cooperating with threads formed interiorly of theplug or stem while the right hand threads cooperate with threads formedon the interior of the outlet of the cook. The plug member is providedwith a peripheral flange ring 20 at its middle, this ring being rigidlysecured to the plug and preferably formed integral with it. The shank issocketed as at 21 and the opposite sides of this ring are adapted tofrictionally engage the end wall 22 of the socket 21 and the end face 23of the cock. In this form the operation is somewhat different from thatof the first form described, although the principles are the same. Inapplying a cock by this device the plug is first screwed into the shankuntil the ring abuts the wall 22 and is firmly held therein byfrictional contact with the wall, there the opposite end of the plug isscrewed into the end of the cock which as shown is screwthreaded forthat purpose. hen the end of the shank engages the end of the cock it ispressed into very tight frictional engagement therewith, the end of theshank being faced for this purpose. Thereafter the greater the pressurebrought to bear on the shank to turn the cock up, the tighter becomesthe frictional engagement, Which engagement rigidly couples the shan: tothe cock as it is being turned up and also prevents movement of theshank with respect to the plug. "When the cock is screwed fully up theshank and plug may be readily removed by turning the shank in theopposite direction whereupon the plug is removed with the shank. Theplug is provided with polygonal ends to facilitate its application andremoval. To remove a cock the operation is reversed (see Fig. The plugis first screwed firmly into the end of the cock with the ring abuttingthe end. Then the shank is screwed to the outer end of the plug andturned left handedly. The frictional engagement of the shank end withthe cock end as before rigidly couples the shank and cock and the cockmay be as readily removed as applied. After removal the cock may be heldin a vise and the shank and plug removed by turning them in the oppositedirection, first the shank and then the plug.

As will be readily understood from the foregoing description, thelocking action of the tool relatively to the pipe fitting, is due to thefact that when the parts are in operative position, any rotationalmovement of the shank 12 in either direction merely increases the director abutting pressure between the service end of the fitting and theadjacent face of the locking member, so that the fitting must turn withthe shank, and that, too, independently of whether, in the absence ofthe direct or abutting pressure just mentioned, the threaded members, orany of them, are screwed up to their respective limits. Thus it will beseen that I have invented a very efficient tool for manipulating pipefittings. I say pipe fittings because it is obvious that my inventionmay be used in connection with fittings other than corporation cocks,there being use for it wherever it is desired to remove a fittingwithout handling the same with a wrench, or when it is impossible to sohandle it.

Ordinarily my device will be locked firmly enough to the fitting withthe surfaces of the part-s and particularly of the locking disk ormember left in the smooth condition as first machined. In some instancesI may roughen the surfaces of the disk and of the end of the plug orstem of my device to a suitable degree, thus securing a betterfrictional engagement of the surfaces with each other and with the endof the fitting and securing a better clamping or locking action.

IVhile I have described the best form of my invention now known to me itis obvious that many modifications may be made in its form,proportionment, etc., without departing in anywise from its genericspirit. desire to cover all such modifications in the annexed claims.

hat I claim is,

1. A device for manipulating pipe fittings comprising a stem member anda coupling member consisting of a screw threaded main body having alocking member midway its ends binding frictionally against the adjacentends of the stem and the fitting.

2. A device for manipulating pipe fittings comprising a stem member anda cou pling member, said coupling member being provided with threads inone direction engaging a pipe fitting, and threads in the oppositedirection engaging the said stem memher, and a locking member on thecoupling member binding between the stem and the coupling members.

3. A device for manipulating pipe fittings comprising a stem member, anda coupling member for clamping the same to a fitting, said couplingmember comprising a main body, and circular locking means provided withfrictional surfaces for binding engagement between the adjacent ends ofthe stem and the coupling member.

i. A device for manipulating pipe fittings comprising a stem member, aclamping member screw threaded to the stem member and adapted for screwthreaded engagement with the fitting, and a locking member within theclamping member and having a lost motion connection therewith, saidlocking member being positioned to frictionally engage the end of thefitting and the end of the stem at the same time.

5. A device for the manipulation of pipe fittings comprising a stemmember, and a coupling member having oppositely threaded ends, and alocking member midway of the ends, said stem member having cooperatingthreads engaging one end of the coupling member and having africtionally engaging surface binding against the locking member, saidcoupling member engaging in the pipe fitting at its opposite end andhaving its locking member binding thereagainst.

6. In a tool of the class described, a coupling member having means fordetachably engaging a fitting to be inserted or removed, a lockingdevice loosely mounted within the coupling member and having a faceagainst which the fitting to be inserted or removed may abut, and ashank carried by the coupling member and having a longitudinal movementrelative thereto, and adapted to be brought into and out of engagementwith the opposite face of the locking device.

7. A tool of the class described, comprising a coupling member providedwith a surface for engaging a mating surface of a fitting to be insertedor removed, a locking member carried by said coupling member and movablerelatively to the same, said locking member having a surface forabutting directly against said fitting and having also a second surface,and a shank carried by said coupling member and provided with a surfacefor abutting directly against said second surface of said lockingmember, said shank being movable both revolubly and axially in relationto said locking member in order to press the latter against said fittingand to relax the pressure thus created.

8. A tool of the class described, comprising a coupling member providedwith ya surface for abutting against a mating surface of a fitting, andalso provided with an opening and with an internal thread bounding saidopening, a locking member carried by said coupling member and movablerelatively thereto, and a shank extending into said opening and providedwith a thread mating said thread bounding the opening, said shank beingrevoluble relatively to said coupling member for the purpose ofproducing or relaxing pressure between said locking member and saidfitting.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

I PHILIP MUELLER.

Witnesses:

LEONARD F. MOKIBBEN, WILLIAM R. BIDDLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

